Please give me some treatment ideas.......pretty please

[Greg_L]

Now that I got some actual monitors instead of the rigged-home-stereo speakers, I'm ready to get serious about treating my room. As of right now, there is nothing done to it whatsoever. Here's a rough not-to-scale-but-close approxomation of my room:

I've extensively read threads, and checked out that Ethan guy's website, and still don't even really know where to begin with bass-traps and diffusers and stuff. The more I read and see pics of people's mixing rooms, the more confused I get. I'm not really seeing any consistency besides clouds hanging over the desks. I'm sure every room is different, but damn. As you can see, my room is pretty square-ish, except for the recessed wall area behind the couch. Lots of small corners and nooks-and-crannies in that area to my seated right at the desk. My room is also a little more cluttered than that illustration. I have stuff on the walls and other odds-and-ends. I don't know if the clutter and couch counteract the square shape or what. One thing I have noticed, just from walking around the room while the monitors play music, is that in the corner areas near the recessed wall - between the couch and doors - the low frequencies seem to be pronounced. Conversely, while standing smack in the middle of the room they sound thin. I have no idea what that's telling me. This is why I need help.

Where should I begin?

Is there anything in my picture that obviously needs some kind of treatment?

Do I need anything in the corners or walls behind the monitors?

Do I need a cloud?

How about the ceiling/wall junctions?

Help!

 

[gbondo9]

Bass traps in the corners would be a start.

How does your room sound? What are the dimensions?
If your drawing is to scale - thats a decent sized room. Bass traps would still be good.

Big bulky furniture makes good bass traps.

 

[Greg_L]

Bass traps in the corners would be a start.

How does your room sound? What are the dimensions?
If your drawing is to scale - thats a decent sized room. Bass traps would still be good.

Big bulky furniture makes good bass traps.

Which corners would benefit from the bass traps?

Do they need to go from the floor to ceiling?

I think the room sounds okay, but I've never really compared it to a properly set up room or anything like that.

I just measured - the room is exactly 12'x12'. 8' ceiling. It's not as big and spacious as my drawing suggests.

 

[Gorty]

Every corner will benefit from having bass trapping, that includes the wall to ceiling corners of your room as well. (Corners are where the bass frequencies congregate) Obviously if you can go all the way from floor to ceiling with your bass traps the more work they are going to do in trapping those bass frequencies. However sometimes this is not practical because of the room it will take up in your corners.

A general consensus is to have the wall-wall bass traps positioned in the centre between the floor and ceiling and be 2' wide x 4' long and a minimum of 4" thick. My room is smaller than yours so I made my traps to suit, mine measured 18" wide x 3' long and 6" thick.
In my room, my door is in one corner so I had to opt for the bass trap to be placed in the ceiling-wall corner.

Here is the bass trap on my rear wall-ceiling corner instead of the wall-wall corners.

The general rule of thumb is to try and retain symmetry when it comes to acoustically treating your room. This will help in your stereo imaging at the mixing stages.
Ideally the monitors should fire into the length of your room, but you have a square so........Looking at your room I would put the mixing desk/monitors in front of your windows, seeing as you have the recessed wall it technically makes that dimension of your room the longest. I would then put the drums where the desk was.
The couch will somewhat help with some reflections off your back wall. The rear wall only requires broadband absorbers which can be 2" thick, this will help in taming those reflections.
Every corner in your room will benefit from bass trapping.
Behind the monitors isn't an absolute necessity unless your monitors have rear ports but it definitely will help to have some broadband absorption behind your monitors.
My mix position is in front of a big glass window and I built a frame and fixed it into the window recess and used 2" Auralex to reduce some highs and reflections.

There's a window behind that Auralex.

A cloud directly above the mix position is ideal also. This can be 2" thick and spaced 2" off the ceiling, in effect giving you 4" thick. You can also just fix it straight to the ceiling. A cloud above your drums will greatly benefit you in taming the highs and any unwanted sibilance in your recordings.

In general Greg, if you didn't particulary want to move any of your gear around from where it is now, I would put bass trapping in as many corners as you can, put broadband absorbers in your first reflection zones which is on your left and right side walls where you sit in the mix position and a cloud above your mix position. The French doors will deal you some reflections though.

These are the areas you ideally want to target, where the sound hits the wall! As well as bass trapping!

Sorry for rambling!

 

[bpape]

Good advice from Gorty.

I'd do the front 2 corners floor to ceiling and also use some of the wall/ceiling corners as you have budget.

In a room that size, I'd also make the rear wall absorbers thicker to help control the null off the back wall instead of just using them for reflection absorbtion.

Bryan

 

[pandamonk]

This is what i'd do. 4" rigid fiberglass panells in the corners, and 2" everywhere else, including ceiling(maybe 4", or 2" spaced 2", for what Brian said). Generally you wanna treat as many corners as you can with thick absorption(bass traps), then treat the side, ceiling and back wall first reflection points. If you can, also treat behind the monitors. Also, you should treat the ceiling above a drum kit.

 

[Greg_L]

Thanks Gorty and bpape.

Moving stuff around in the room isn't practical. It needs to stay the way the it is in that pic. I can put pretty significant traps in the far corners behind the drums and next to the couch. The walls (1st reflection point?) directly to the sides of my ears are trickier. Do they need full-size treatments? Can I just make a panel that sits around ear level? Clouds over the drums and mixing position isn't a problem either. Are the clouds for diffusion or absorption? Do I want the room to be as dead as possible?

This shit is too damn confusing.

 

[Greg_L]

This is what i'd do. 4" rigid fiberglass panells in the corners, and 2" everywhere else, including ceiling.

Thanks a lot for that example. Thing is, I can't really set the room up like that. It needs to stay like the pic I drew up. Do you have any suggestions leaving the setup I currently have?

 

[pandamonk]

Thanks Gorty and bpape.

Moving stuff around in the room isn't practical. It needs to stay the way the it is in that pic. I can put pretty significant traps in the far corners behind the drums and next to the couch. The walls (1st reflection point?) directly to the sides of my ears are trickier. Do they need full-size treatments? Can I just make a panel that sits around ear level? Clouds over the drums and mixing position isn't a problem either. Are the clouds for diffusion or absorption? Do I want the room to be as dead as possible?

This shit is too damn confusing.

You can have 2'x2' panels for side reflection points, imo(although this will reduce the sweet spot). Clouds are absorption. You don't want it as dead as possible, it should be slightly deader(is that a word?) than a living room.

 

[pandamonk]

Thanks a lot for that example. Thing is, I can't really set the room up like that. It needs to stay like the pic I drew up. Do you have any suggestions leaving the setup I currently have?

Why can't you move things? I'd say definitely get the drums and guitar amp out the corners(corners are bad), and the tv to give room for bass traps. Preferably, the desk should come out a bit from the wall so your mixing position is 38% of the room length, but i don't think this is always absolutely necessary.

Generally you want to treat the bass, so bass traps in as many corners as possible. You always want a decent stereo image, which is why you treat the first reflection points.

 

[Greg_L]

Why can't you move things? I'd say definitely get the drums and guitar amp out the corners(corners are bad), and the tv to give room for bass traps. Preferably, the desk should come out a bit from the wall so your mixing position is 38% of the room length, but i don't think this is always absolutely necessary.

Generally you want to treat the bass, so bass traps in as many corners as possible. You always want a decent stereo image, which is why you treat the first reflection points.

The room is not as big as my illustration makes it seem. It's 12x12. The drums, desk, TV, and couch are all in a delicate balance so that each is usable without being in the way of the others. I want to be able to sit on the couch and watch my big TV without moving the drums. This room isn't a dedicated "studio"......it's my man-room. I just want to do the best I can with it while leaving it "liveable".

 

[andyhix]

[Mind you I can't see your original drawing, cuz my office blocks whatever picture host you used - probably photobucket?]

This is just how I would prioritize:

Just do as much as you can afford, and do it as symetrically as possible. Start with bass traps in at least 2 corners (not 2 corners that are opposite), so either the back 2 corners behind you or the 2 in front of you. [Given the shape of my room, my bass traps are in the front corners, and I have none in the back. It works.] Do all 4 if you can.

Then, your first reflection points to the side, and a cloud above the mix desk. That will help a bunch. Regarding those to the side, yes, a smaller panel will be ok. Of course, bigger is always better, but if you aren't moving your head much, if they are carefully placed, you should be ok. Have a friend hold a hand mirror flush against the wall, while you sit at your mix position. At the point where you can clearly see one of your monitors, make a small mark on the wall behind the mirror. Make a 2nd mark where you can see the other monitor. Try to position your panel to cover those two marks with as much overlap as possible. Do the same thing on the other side.

Beyond that, probably the wall behind you would be the next priority. Do the same thing with the mirror.

Finally, some more bass traps in the ceiling-wall corners (a la Gorty) and other panels wherever there's room.

Again, I can't see your pic, so maybe none of that applies.

 

[Gorty]

Basically Greg,

Treat as many of the corners you can with bass traps (4" thick), shorter ones in the corners behind your TV and guitar amp and as long as you can in the opposite two corners.
A cloud above your mixing position and drums (2" thick, with a 2" gap between the cloud and ceiling if possible).
Two panels whatever size possible for your first reflections on your left and right of your mix position.
You can add 2'x4'x2" panels around your room to tame reflections as long as you try and keep things symmetrical.

It is very confusing at first but little by little you will grasp the concept of acoustic treatments and how they work best. Every room is different.

 

[Greg_L]

Okay thanks man. I think I'm getting it a little.

Here's an updated pic. Clouds over the drums and desk, traps in the rear corners, and broadband absorption panels on the walls directly adjacent to my ears.

Will this idea get me started?

Also, where's the best place to buy the bass-trap stuff?

 

[Greg_L]

Shit, I forgot to draw in the traps behind the TV and amps.

 

[Gorty]

Okay thanks man. I think I'm getting it a little.

Here's an updated pic. Clouds over the drums and desk, traps in the rear corners, and broadband absorption panels on the walls directly adjacent to my ears.

Will this idea get me started?

Also, where's the best place to buy the bass-trap stuff?

The cloud over your desk needs to cover the area above your monitors and your seating position (to be sure you get the right coverage) or use a mirror the same way as the side reflections.
The treatments for reflections on the side walls need to be located by placing a mirror on the wall and covering the area where you can see your monitors when sitting at your desk!

You're getting there Grace!

 

[Greg_L]

Okay. I think i can handle that. Thanks everyone.

Now where do I buy this stuff?

 

[Gorty]

Okay. I think i can handle that. Thanks everyone.

Now where do I buy this stuff?

The stuff you need is a rigid fibreglass which is called OC703. It is usually 2" thick. If you come over to my place I have shitloads of it here that you can have for free!

 

[apl]

Here's mine. Hotglued the fabric to the panels and put them up with pushpins.

https://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v509/arvopl/?action=view&current=1172516286.pbw

 

[Greg_L]

The stuff you need is a rigid fibreglass which is called OC703. It is usually 2" thick. If you come over to my place I have shitloads of it here that you can have for free!

Ship it to me. I'll reimburse you with pics of my naked booty.

Here's mine. Hotglued the fabric to the panels and put them up with pushpins.

https://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v509/arvopl/?action=view&current=1172516286.pbw

Wow. You got those things everywhere. Looks cool. Thanks for the ideas.